THE FLATS – The No. 11 Georgia Tech women’s tennis team is one of 16 Division I women’s tennis teams heading to New Haven, Conn. this weekend to compete in the 2017 ITA National Team Indoor Championships. The four-day event, Feb. 10-13, takes place at two sites: the Cullman-Heyman Tennis Center and the Tennis and Fitness Center of Rocky Hill, with Yale University serving as the official host.
THE SCENE: The field, which boasts 15 nationally-ranked teams in the top 25, open play Friday morning at 9 a.m. In the first round, the Jackets will challenge 7th-seeded California, the defending champion, at 12 p.m. at the Tennis and Fitness Center of Rocky Hill. Tech will then face either host Yale or No. 2 seeded North Carolina on Saturday.
The event is in its 30th year of existence. Fifteen teams qualified for the event by winning their respective 2017 ITA Kick-Off Weekend regional, while Yale received an automatic bid as the host site. The teams will compete in a single-elimination format and each team is guaranteed three matches during the tournament.
SCHEDULE OF PLAY: First round action kicks off on Friday morning at 9 a.m. with quarterfinals taking place on Saturday. The semifinals will be held on Sunday and the championship match is slated for Feb. 13. Friday’s schedule of play is as follows:
No. 3 Oklahoma State vs. Ole Miss, 9 a.m. (RH)
No. 6 Ohio State vs. Auburn, 9 a.m. (Yale)
No. 2 North Carolina vs. Yale, 12 p.m. (Yale)
No. 7 California vs. Georgia Tech, 12 p.m. (RH)
No. 1 Florida vs. Michigan, 3:30 p.m. (Yale)
No. 8 Vanderbilt vs. Texas Tech, 3:30 p.m. (RH)
No. 4 Pepperdine vs. Texas A&M, 6:30 p.m. (Yale)
No. 5 Georgia vs. Duke, 6:30 p.m. (RH)
FOLLOW LIVE – Live scoring for all matches will be available on the Division I Women’s National Indoors event page. Additionally, fans can watch live via FloTennis which will provide live streaming coverage all four days. FloTennis is a subscription-based service with monthly and annual rate options. To sign up and view the live stream, please click here.
ITA RANKINGS – In the latest ITA rankings released this week, the Yellow Jackets remain at No. 11 nationally. Additionally, the Jackets’ Rasheeda McAdoo comes in at No. 43 in singles rankings and Nami Otsuka sits at No. 92. The Tech duo of Johnnise Renaud/Rasheeda McAdoo entered the doubles rankings as the No. 11 doubles tandem in the country.
ROAD TO ITA – The Jackets clinched a berth into the ITA National Team Indoor Championships with victories over Penn and No. 24 UCLA in the ITA Kick-Off Weekend in Atlanta. Junior Johnnise Renaud earned ACC Women’s Tennis Player of the Week after going 4-0 on the weekend in both singles and doubles.
HISTORY IN ITA INDOORS – Georgia Tech has claimed two ITA National Team Indoor Championships in history, winning the trophies in 2007 and 2008. The Yellow Jackets last earned a bid to the event in 2012, falling in the first round to UCLA.
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